Gluten- & Dairy-free Bread

People typically greet a gluten allergy diagnosis with shocked disbelief. How can bread, eaten with nearly every meal and a synonym for nourishment itself, actually make you sick? The offending ingredients are a group of allergenic proteins called glutens, found in wheat, barley and rye but not other grains. The only treatment is abstinence from foods containing gluten; often, however, one food allergy is compounded by others, the most common being lactose intolerance. Discuss your diet options with your doctor for advice specific to your condition.

The Spectrum of Gluten Intolerance

At one extreme are people suffering from celiac disease, about 1 percent of the population, whose autoimmune systems react to even tiny amounts of gluten by flooding the blood with antibodies. At the other are those who can eat anything they like with no ill effects. In the middle are people --- by some estimates, CNN reported in 2011, 10 percent of the U.S. population --- who have some degree of gluten intolerance that stops short of celiac disease but may have similar debilitating symptoms. A study led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Celiac Research, published in 2011, identified this spectrum of gluten-related disorders. The diverse range of symptoms, often with no apparent connection to the gastrointestinal system, has meant that victims are frequently misdiagnosed, but the researchers estimate that about 18 million Americans are affected.

Gluten-Free Baking Tips

On the Gluten Free Works website, John Libonati warns that gluten-free baked goods taste best the day they come out of the oven --- so store them in the freezer and thaw only what you intend to use the same day. Gluten-free flours may need more leavening than wheat flours, so when converting recipes, add 25 percent more baking powder or baking soda, although not more yeast. Since gluten-free flours tend to stick to pans more than wheat flours, use non-stick pans, line them with parchment, or coat them with shortening and a dusting of rice flour, Libonati advises.

Ingredient Substitutions

Most gluten-free flours take a 1-to-1 substitution for wheat flour in bread recipes, the Recipes for Natural Health website notes. A standard all-purpose gluten-free flour might consist of 2 cups of white rice flour, 2/3 cup of potato starch and 1/3 cup of tapioca starch. Of all ingredients, milk is the least crucial and most easily substituted, but be aware that soy milk will brown the loaf more than cow's milk; potato milk whitens; and rice milk can make the dough watery, a problem corrected by adding a little extra oil.

The Advantages of Home-Baked Breads

Compared to the selection of wheat breads available, the options for commercially made gluten-free and dairy-free breads are often limited to a few small, unappetizing and very expensive loaves. Once your kitchen is stocked with the necessary ingredients, making your own bread is a tasty, healthy and economical alternative. Many of the recipes featured in the Resources section are the product of years of patient trial and error by people who needed to eliminate gluten from their diets but refused to give up bread. They now share them for the benefit of others struggling to adjust to a new way of eating.